The How To Podcast Series - Podcast Co-Hosts, Practical Podcasting Tips, and Podcast Community

E105 - Mark Gordon - Coaching and Podcasting, YouTube Premieres, Streamyard and Overcoming Mic Fright

https://howtopodcast.ca/

E104 - Show Me The Money - How to Make Money with very few listeners

Podcasting has become immensely popular in the last decade, and with podcast listeners being the fastest growing media audience, you know there’s a ton of potential fans for your show.

But even if you have a great idea for a new podcast and a knack for building engaged, online audiences⁠—how do you make money podcasting?

Streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts pay out for streams, but the payout tends to be very low. Podcast sponsorships are one way, but for new podcasts, the likelihood of finding a high-paying sponsorship is slim unless you’re already a well-established figure. 

Traditional sponsorships tend to be out of reach for new podcasters because businesses are less willing to risk investing in a podcast without an established audience. 

So is it even possible for new podcasts to make money? The answer is yes. 

By setting up a few automated revenue streams, new podcasters can accrue passive income that grows alongside their audience, giving them time back to focus on podcasting. 

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based form of marketing where a business offers rewards to affiliates who are able to successfully bring customers to them. Affiliate marketing is a great way for any creator to monetize their content. 

In affiliate programs, businesses only payout after customers complete an agreed-upon action. Usually this action is making a purchase, but some affiliate programs may payout for email signups, page clicks, downloads, or content engagement. 

Sell custom merchandise to fans

Give your fans the opportunity to show their support for your podcast by selling custom merchandise like t-shirts, stickers, posters, mugs, tote bags, journals, and more. 

Perhaps the easiest way to run a merch store is by using a print-on-demand distribution model. This is where a third-party prints and ships products on your behalf, at the point of purchase. That means there’s no overhead costs, no time wasted on shipping, no need to store inventory, and lower financial risk. 

It might take a little time to create an online store and add products, but once finished, the process of running your store can be almost fully automated.

Although some of these platforms offer monetization options, it’s a good idea to include an additional tool to collect tips. Here are the most common tip-collection tools used by podcasters: 

The great thing about these tipping tools is that they don’t need to be exclusively housed on your livestreams. Add a tip URL to your social media pages, web pages, and show notes to make it easy for fans to show their support by tipping.

Like authors, podcast hosts are typically viewed as being a voice of authority on a particular subject, making the transition from podcast host to writer almost seamless. Perhaps that’s why so many popular podcasts have been spun off into books written by their creators.

Podcasters have a ton of advantage when it comes to selling books online: 

https://howtopodcast.ca/

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/truemediaca

https://www.teepublic.com/user/true-media-solutions

Goodbye to Podpage - The Free Plan is Over, What Now, PodcastForFree.com will show you the way

So, a resource that I once promoted as a great free option is no longer free as of August 1 2023 - so time to pivot away from Podpage. For those of you that have followed my advice in the past around using Podpage, I wanted to give you my alternative going forward.

I am setting up PodcastForFree.com which will give you a list of the free tools that you can use as a podcaster to start your show! From hosting, to websites, to tools like Pod.link (my Podpage replacement suggestion) to free editing via Audacity - you do not need to pay for tools to start a podcast - you can do this for free and I want to help you with the tools that I use everyday to create my shows!

Why is this changing?

Podpage’s free plan allowed podcasters to create publicly accessible podcast websites so they could try our service. Unfortunately, a lot of non-podcasters abused it and posted illegal or stolen content on the free sites.

The good news is that a very small percentage of podcasters use the free plan as their official podcast website. Most upgrade to the Basic or Pro plan, so this change won’t impact too many legitimate websites.

However, I know there are some of you who rely on Podpage Free for your official site, and I’m very sorry about this change. To make it easier, we are offering discounts on upgrading before August 1.

How do I upgrade and keep my site?

If you’d like to continue your service with Podpage, go to https://podpage.com/upgrade/. There are currently two plans available, and here’s how to save money on each:

What happens if I don’t upgrade?

All your data will still be safe and accessible through the Podpage dashboard, but your website will “Expire”, which means anyone who visits it will see an “Expired” screen. At any point, you can upgrade and turn it back on.

https://howtopodcast.ca/

E103 - Five tips for creating artwork for your podcast episodes - The Podcast Owner's Manual Mini Series

Here are a few tips for creating artwork for your podcast episodes:

Overall, it's important to create artwork that is visually appealing, consistent with your brand, and meets the requirements of the platform you are using.

E115 - The Best Free Resource for Your Podcast is listening to your show - Your Audience

As a podcaster, engaging your audience and seeking their support can play a crucial role in maintaining and contributing to the creation and ongoing production of your podcast. Here are some ways your podcast audience can help:

Listener Feedback: Encourage your audience to provide feedback, comments, and suggestions. This input can offer valuable insights into what they enjoy and what can be improved, helping you refine your content.

Reviews and Ratings: Ask your listeners to leave reviews and ratings on podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts. Positive reviews can attract new listeners, and higher ratings can improve your podcast's visibility in search results.

Social Media Engagement: Build an active presence on social media and encourage your audience to share your episodes, tag friends, and interact with your posts. This word-of-mouth promotion can expand your reach.

Subscriber Growth: Encourage listeners to subscribe to your podcast. Subscribers are more likely to receive notifications of new episodes and stay engaged with your content.

Crowdfunding and Donations: Set up crowdfunding campaigns or provide a way for your audience to make voluntary donations to support your podcast financially. Platforms like Patreon can be useful for this purpose.

Participation in Q&A Episodes: Host Q&A episodes where you answer questions from your audience. Engaging with your listeners directly helps foster a sense of community and connection.

Guest Recommendations: Encourage your audience to suggest potential guests or topics for future episodes. This can help you cater to their interests and expand your network of experts.

Sharing Personal Stories: Invite your audience to share personal stories or experiences related to your podcast's theme. These stories can add depth and authenticity to your content.

Spreading the Message: If your podcast focuses on a particular cause or mission, encourage your listeners to spread the message to raise awareness and effect positive change.

Encourage Reviews of Products/Services: If you promote eco-friendly products or services on your podcast, ask your audience to leave reviews if they try them out. Positive reviews can support those businesses and reinforce your credibility.

By involving your audience in various aspects of your podcast, you can foster a strong community, gain valuable support, and create content that resonates with your listeners. Remember to express gratitude and acknowledge their contributions to keep them engaged and motivated to support your podcast's ongoing success.

EPISODE 102 - Audio Editing for Your Intro and Outro and Some Thoughts on Music In Your Podcast

Instagram Releases Threads - 4 Advantages and Disadvantages With New Social Media Platforms - The Daily Dave - Podcasting Tips

Threads, the new Twitter competitor launched by Matt, is a text-based conversation app released by Instagram. It allows users to share photos and videos while primarily focusing on text-based interactions. The app enables users to follow others and participate in public conversations. The social feed displays posts from followed accounts and recommended content. Posts can include up to 500 characters, links, photos, and videos up to five minutes long. Users can log in with their Instagram account on iPhone and Android devices, search for and follow other users, and customize their profile. The app offers features such as liking, commenting, sharing, and sending posts as tweets or messages. Integration with Instagram allows for seamless sharing between the two platforms.

Advantages of Adopting a New Social Media Platform:

Disadvantages of Adopting a New Social Media Platform:

While adopting a new social media platform like Threads can offer advantages such as increased reach, early adopter advantage, unique features, and tailored content, there are also potential disadvantages such as a limited user base, an uncertain future, a divided audience, and a learning curve. As with any decision to adopt a new platform, it's important to weigh the benefits against the challenges and consider how it aligns with your overall social media strategy and goals.

https://www.threads.net/@howtopodcastseries.ca

E100 - Looking Back and Ahead As We Celebrate the Amazing Guests and Listeners of the How To Podcast Series

If you have been here for 100 episodes or if this your very first time here, welcome to our 100th episode of the How to Podcast Series! At the time of recording, our little podcast has now surpassed 45,000 combined listens over the past 100 episodes - I can't believe it, really! The list of countries joining the How to Podcast Series Family continues to grow!

Thank you! We love to see that this podcast is connecting with you, what has meant the most is speaking to you, the listener - jumping on a zoom call, trading Speak Pipe messages back and forth and spending time together planning out the next steps for your show!

Our weekly Zoom Rooms brings Podcasters together from around the globe, It is great to see you connecting with other fellow listeners!

We want to remind you about our Podcast Feedback Offer - get a review of your show and give back to the charity of your choice!

If you need help with your podcast editing, website design, YouTube Channel, Artwork, Social Media, Show details and more, reach out and let's get together to answer your questions!

Be sure to check out our new survey on our website! We want to hear from you!

Thanks for all your support - here is to the next 100!

Dave

https://howtopodcast.ca/

E99 - My Message to Radio Hosts About Podcasting In The Light of Recent Media Layoffs in Canada

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E98 - How We Can Help Every Podcaster With One Easy Step - Finding New Listeners

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